Portfolio Pruning

IT professionals are seeing paltry gains in average compensation levels this year, according to recent research from Janco Associates and eJobDescription.com. The accompanying report, the "Mid-Year 2014 IT Salary Survey," indicates that salaries are at the same level as they were in 2008, which is somewhat of a half-empty/half-full finding. On the positive side, it means that IT salaries are now comparable to the pre-recession era. On a disappointing note, results reveal that soaring demand for many niche IT skills—coupled with a relatively healthy economy—has not pushed salaries to new highs. Meanwhile, compared to four years ago, there are considerably fewer companies offering a number of valued benefits, such as health insurance, retirement savings plans and performance bonuses. Growth in tech jobs is slowing slightly as well, according to Janco's analysis: There were about 32,200 jobs added from January through May of this year, compared with 36,500 jobs added for the same time period last year. The research was compiled using data from more than 255 large and nearly 810 midsize organizations.